Friday, November 22, 2013

Come Little Children by D. Melhoff: Interview

Tell us about your current release.

Come Little Childrenis about a mortician who moves to a secluded town in the Yukon for her first job after graduating from mortuary school. Her new employers are the town’s most controversial citizens, and when strange things start happening around the morgue—including midnight visits from children who were thought to be dead—she won’t stop until she uncovers the truth behind these paranormal conspiracies.

What is your heroine of the story like?

The heroine, Camilla Carleton, is how the story came about in the first place. I knew I wanted to write a book about morticians, and then—seemingly out of nowhere—an extremely strange, incredibly beautiful girl popped into my head.

For those who haven’t read the book yet, Camilla marches to the beat of her own drum. On one hand, she’s very concerned with fashion and aesthetics (her outfits are straight out of a Gothic couture runway collection), but on the other hand, she deals with the dead and she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty. She’s got a dry sense of humor, and her interactions with others are usually awkward, but despite her odd disposition, she’s an incredibly intelligent and astute woman with extreme passion for her work.

How do you describe your writing style?

My style is fast-paced with the occasional pit stop for something humorous. In other words, I don’t like wasting readers’ time describing every piece of furniture in a room, or the way the every flower smells. I think they’re capable of imagining most of that themselves.

Plotter or Pantser? Why?

Pantser if you’re referring to preference of practical joke, plotter if you’re referring to novels.

I come from the screenplay world, so I’m used to structuring everything page by page and scene by scene. Before I write the first word, I’ve spent days (or weeks) fleshing out the whole story and outlining every chapter. Perhaps it’s overkill, but it helps me pace the entire book and avoid writer’s block.

What are the most important attributes for remaining sane as a writer?

Take criticism as objectively as possible. Work in the good feedback; forget the trolls. Take breaks, but go hard and give your project as much time and attention as you can afford. At the same time, don’t stress about the aspects you can’t control.

Sitzfleisch. It’s a German word I learned from Joe Eszterhas (“Basic Instinct”, “Flashdance”) which, directly translated, means “sitting flesh”. Figuratively, it represents the act of applying your butt to your chair and writing until the work is finished.

I write what I read: fast-paced, tongue in cheek thrillers with moments of comedy, horror, and love mixed together. If you want to get lost in a dark world without leaving the safety of your own covers, come take a trip to the Yukon with me and see what strange things stir in the midnight sun.

For more information on Come Little Children, visit my website at www.dmelhoff.com and/or order the book straight to your Kindles or mailboxes from Amazon.

When their newest employee uncovers a supernatural conspiracy connected to a string of child murders, she must use every shred of her intelligence to stop a new breed of serial killer and escape the morgue alive.

About the Author:

D. Melhoff was born in a prairie ghost town located an inch above the Canadian-American border. He credits King, Poe, Hitchcock, Harris, Raimi, and his second grade school teacher, Mrs. Lake, for turning him to horror.

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